It wasn’t the prettiest game, but the Chicago Bears’ run game and their defense came to play in a 20-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium.
Justin Fields, who took some big hits during the course of the game, threw for 111 yards and his first career touchdown.
Khalil Herbert rushed for 75 yards, while Damien Williams rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown for the Bears as they moved above .500 on the season.
Khalil Mack had a sack in the game, along with a key two-point conversion stop where he tackled former teammate Derek Carr in the Raiders’ backfield.
The Bears’ offense got off to a sluggish start in the first quarter, with a Daniel Carlson field goal serving as the only points scored by either team in the frame.
Fields and company managed to get things going in the second however, putting together a pair of impressive drives. The first ended when Fields rolled out to the right and fired a strike to Jesper Horsted for his first career touchdown pass, giving the Bears a 7-3 lead.
The second drive, which chewed up 8:17 of clock, lasted for 16 plays and covered 86 yards, with Williams scampering in from four yards out to give the Bears a 14-3 lead at the break.
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Unfortunately for the Bears, their offense couldn’t get going in the third quarter, gaining just 33 yards, and the Raiders were able to hang around. Las Vegas was finally able to hit pay dirt in the fourth quarter, with Josh Jacobs scoring on a leaping touchdown dive across the goal line. Carr was sacked on the two-point conversion attempt, and the Raiders remained behind by a 14-9 margin.
A 10-play, 57 yard-drive came to a disappointing end when Fields was tackled short of the line to gain, but Cairo Santos drilled a 46-yard field goal through the upright to extend Chicago’s lead to eight points.
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The Raiders got the ball back late in the game, trailing 17-9, but the Bears’ defense was once again up to the task, with Tashaun Gipson getting a key stop on a sack of Carr.
A Carr completion to Hunter Renfrow set up a manageable fourth down play, but his pass fell incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.
From there, the Bears opted to play things cautiously, allowing Santos to knock through another 46-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-9 with less than a minute to go.
The Bears will be in for a tough test in Week 6, welcoming the Green Bay Packers to Soldier Field.